Market Scene: Mahane Yehuda in Jerusalem

Mahane Yehuda, or just "the shuk" (meaning "market"), is a must-hit in Jerusalem. Over 250 vendors make up this vibrantly colorful and bustling open-air market. You've got the tattooed cherry vendor standing before piles of lighter pink and deeper red cherries; the Halvah King wearing his crown, presenting you with mocha-flavored halvah samples; Orthodox Jews shopping for rugelach alongside Armenian monks buying almonds by the pound.

Located minutes away from the historic city center, Mahane Yehuda is an incredibly diverse place where tourists shop next to locals, young and old, rich and poor, religious and secular. It's a market you can see, touch, taste, hear, feel, and breathe while roaming through each lane.

We also crossed the street to eat some khachapuri, the Georgian cheese bread, from a khachapuria. There was an oblong-shaped one filled with stretchy white cheese, a few cracked eggs with still runny yolks, and melted butter swimming in there that burned my tongue several times, but it was worth every wound. Rip off the still steamy bread edge then dip it back into the buttery, yolky, cheesy middle. You must stop into this standing-room-only shop while at the shuk.

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Since 2008, I've been working with our writers, editors, and community to make Serious Eats a more dynamic and delicious place. Originally from southern California, now a Brooklyn dweller who's always trawling for a ripe avocado.